Programmable low pass filters find wide use in communications and sound reproduction systems. Throughout this background, specification and claims, by programmable is meant automatic or manual adjustable or variable. Often in such applications it is desirable to have a pulse slimming feature that is to have a high frequency boost to increase the strength of the higher frequencies passed by the programmable low pass filter. Integrated current programmable biquad low pass filters using transconductance (g.sub.m) amplifiers provide such high frequency boost but the transfer function high component sensitivity. Another structure for programmable low pass filters, known as ladder filters, have been implemented with either passive LC components or active g.sub.m amplifiers. Programmable passive LC low pass ladder filters with high frequency boost are not known. There are programmable active transconductance low pass ladder filters with high frequency boost which combine the output signal with its differential derivative to obtain the high frequency boost but this increases the high frequency noise in the final output signal.